He had been a substitute in the Catalan club's last two games and reports appeared that Chelsea were set to sign him in the January transfer window.

It added to the uncertainty surrounding Ronaldinho, whose lifestyle has been called into question in some quarters, but he marked his return to first-team action with a penalty in the win over Deportivo.

Laporta added: "We are counting on Ronaldinho and you could see (against Deportivo) that he fought like the rest of the players."